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Lawsuit: Dublin Dr Pepper Not What Doctor Ordered

PLANO (AP) – Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. filed a lawsuit against one of its bottlers Tuesday over what it says are license agreement violations.

The beverage maker said Dr Pepper Bottling Co. of Dublin, Texas, is selling Dr Pepper beyond a six-county territory allowed under its license agreement and is selling soda with a “Dublin Dr Pepper” labeling on packaging and other merchandise that violates its agreement.

The bottler, according to the company, is marketing a version of the beverage made with cane sugar as “Dublin Dr Pepper.” It is one of several bottlers authorized to make the drink with cane sugar, but it is not allowed to modify the name and logo as such, according to the agreement.

“In the simplest terms, the bottler in Dublin is using a logo that is no longer authorized and is taking business from fellow Dr Pepper bottlers who play by the rules and sell within their defined territories,” said Jim Johnston, president of beverage concentrates for DPS. “We owe it to our other bottlers to stop these unauthorized practices.”

DPS, a subsidiary of the parent company, filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas.

DPS owns the Dr Pepper brand and through its subsidiaries licenses it to more than 170 bottlers across the U.S. and Canada.

It’s not the original formula… it’s simply they are using sugar. In the 70s, they were the one plant that refused to switch out to corn syrup like the rest of the soft drink manufacturers. In my opinion, it tastes much better with sugar. The 10/2/4 logo was in use prior to that along with “Drink a bite to eat”. A study showed that blood sugars dipped at 10:30, 2:30, and 4:30. So having a Dr Pepper helped deal with the dip. Corn syrup doesn’t have the same impact, so the 10/2/4 was dropped. Dublin should definitely be left alone until such time as a sugar based alternative is available to all through the normal retail channels.

I bought dubblin DR Pepper till the outhers started makeing it they wouldnet have till the public starteded buying what it wanted from the dublin plant they were forsed to make it or loose lol thats real so in my opion dublin is heros of the people

This only shows that DP made in Dublin has a better flavor and is a better product and more in demand than the other DP. If the other DP was as good or better then this would not be happening. Dublin DP is really scaring the conglomerate. Why not let the people decide instead of trying to crush the original.

“Dublin DP” is made with the same formula as any other DP. Dublin just uses cane sugar for some of its DP. Several other bottlers also produce cane sugar DP. DPSG just wants Dublin to use an approved logo. Do you think McDonalds would let a franchisee change all the recipes or change the name of their restaurant to “Upscale McDonalds” and market it as using a different recipes when they really use the same recipes?

no what DPSG wants is for the Dublin plant to do only exactly what they say when what Dublin is doing is actually good for the Dr Pepper name…because alot of people are unaware that the Dublin plant is different other than selling a slightly different product so when alot of people find other bottling companies selling it closer to home they buy it from there instead of from Dublin… what DPSG should do instead of wasting money and the courts time is just make the original formula of Dr Pepper that Dublin is selling more widely available so that they can make money off of it. and for the record mc donalds does that in a way if you go to some areas overseas mc donalds (same franchise) is actually not a burger place but more of a coffee shop.

It’s original because DP was originally made with cane sugar. In the 70’s bottlers started using HFCS to save money but the taste suffered drastically. Dublin is the only bottler that has never switched from cane sugar. Even the anniversary DP put out recently is made with beet sugar and you can definitely taste the difference.

They are not saying Dublin DP has to change how it’s made, just how it’s distributed and labled which is a valid problem for other bottle companies with DP. If the public prefers it with cane sugar then contact your local bottler and tell them if they want their product purchased then change how they make it. If they won’t then drive to the area that Dublin DP covers and buy it there which is something they can’t sue over or stop.
Remember being old or historic gives you no rights to survive the times.

This is a very good point since the indigence have to be labeled according to Federal law. We must be wise and “Read” the label. But all they are looking for (which defies the company image of trying something different) is uniformity with all of its plants. They are only allowed to distribute to a 6 county radius around them. Even if the label changes the product is still the same. They might have to re-invest (borrow form a bank aka Loan) in the labeling process, but in the long run should pay off since they have their loyal customers that have kept and the publicity they have going for them right now should produce more customers. Remember, any publicity is good publicity!

Dr Pepper isn’t in worth it.The taste alone makes me gag then I have the runs too.If I wanted a flat coke I would leave a can of coke open for a few days and get the same taste as Dr Pepper,only worse.

Dr. Pepper is #1 here, yes. But they also make it impossible to obtain anywhere else. Their reason, “maintaining exclusivity.” try getting a dr. pepper outside of texas, DPSG makes it impossible to do so. that is why DPSG is throwing a fit over this because other independent companies are trying to make it available elsewhere and DPSG is greedy wanting the business. DPSG is not allowing independent businesses make a living! they are trying to hord all the sales. AND once they do, the true Dublin flavor will be lost as DPSG uses cheaper ingredients so that DPSG can improve their stock value.

Dublin DP has to play by the rules of the franchise. I expect they may get by with DP made in Dublin, but not Dublin DP. And while they sale it within their territory, nothing will stop the public from coming there to buy it or have someone else ship them some (believe Coors Beer was that way a long time ago or some brand of beer was because I thought people where crazy to drive to Colorado just to stock up on beer). So while they control the name, there is no way in today’s world they can really control the territory since people will get around that factor.
I highly favor all items carry the location they are made in no matter what it is. If a recall comes up it would be much easier to not waste time looking at numbers unless they where made in the location the recall came from.

I grew up n Dublin. I don’t think it will matter n court that it tastes so much better. If they have violated their licensing agreement n any way, Dublin DP will probably lose the case. All they have to do is change logo, take dublin out and make sure made original in dublin, tx is on product. Guess no matter who wins, Dr. Pepper stock be on the rise more than likely during all this.

Local paper said a lot of bottlers in Texas (DFW area included) and 1 in NC makes it with cane sugar, so guess I’d better run out and buy some that says Dublin DP before it goes off the market. Think in the future it might become liquid gold-I doubt it even if they wind up out of business because they loose the law suit and unless decide to play by the rules get’s their DP production contract ended.

The mass produced canned and bottled 6packs of “Dublin Dr Pepper” aren’t even made in Dublin. They’re produced in Temple and trucked to the Dublin warehouse. The Dublin facility only makes small orders of bottled 6packs and syrup formula for fountain drinks.